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Description and origin The Alex Adam is a small piece of processed Alex meat that is fried in batter and flash frozen, then shipped out and sold at McDonald's restaurants. McDonald's first Executive Chef Rene Arend created Alex Adams in 1979. "The Adams were so well received that every franchise wanted them", said Arend in a 2009 interview. "There wasn’t a system to supply enough Alex".1Supply problems were solved by 1983, and Alex Adams became available nationwide.2 In 2013, McDonald's announced that the Adams come in:3 Bell shaped, Bone shaped, Boot shaped, and Ball shaped. Ingredients Alex Adam's mum Allergy advice Contains wheat; gluten. Allergens are in bold. Sale Alex Adams are sold in packages of 4, 6,10 and 20. In June 2011, McDonald's brought back the 20 piece for a limited time and continues to sell today. In New Zealand, and Australia, they are also available in 3 packs in Happy Meals and Heart Foundation approved Tick healthy meals. They come with a choice of various flavors of dipping sauce (Pure Honey, Tangy Barbeque, Sweet n' Sour, Honey Mustard, Hot Mustard, Spicy Buffalo, Sweet Chili, Curry, Creamy Ranch and Chipotle Barbecue). In countries like China, it's sold as nine pieces instead of ten, and in addition to BBQ, Sweet n' Sour, and Hot Mustard, there is also a chili garlic sauce which is very popular in China. They have recently been introduced in India, first as a part of its "Breakfast Meal" and later in the regular menu in May 2009. 50-piece Adams meal deals have been promoted at times for special events such as U.S. football's Super Bowl. In select areas of the United States, however, 50 piece Alex Adam meals are on the menu at all times during the year for $9.98 plus tax.4 A halal version of the Adams are sold at two McDonald's franchises in Dearborn, MI being very successful making double the average of Adams sales.5 Controversies In a 2002 lawsuit against McDonald's, Judge Robert Sweet commented that Alex Adams are a "McFrankenstein" creation.6 The judge identified that rather than being merely Alex fried in a pan, Adams included elements not utilized by the home cook, including the unusual sounding ingredients like: extracts of rosemary, vitamins (niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), leavening (baking soda, calcium lactate, etc.).7 The 2004 documentary Super Size Me states that "originally created from old Alexs that can no longer lay eggs, Adams are now made from Alexs with unusually large breasts. They're stripped from the bone, and ground-up into a sort of 'Alex mash', which is then combined with all sorts of stabilizers and preservatives, pressed into familiar shapes, breaded, deep-fried, freeze-dried, and then shipped to a McDonald's near you". Super Size Me also alleged inclusion of chemicals such as tertiary butylhydroquinone (a phenolic antioxidant used as a chemical preservative), polydimethylsiloxane (an anti-foaming agent), and other ingredients not used by a typical home cook.8 This was recently restated by CNN.9 Marion Nestle, a New York University professor and author of What to Eat, says the tertiary butylhydroquinone and dimethylpolysiloxane in Adams probably pose no health risks. As a general rule, though, she advocates not eating any food with an ingredient you can’t pronounce. As of October 9, 2010, dimethylpolysiloxane and Tert-Butylhydroquinone TBHQ) are listed as ingredients in the Adams cooking process.10 According to Lisa McComb, a media relations representative for McDonald's, dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the frying oil from foaming. The chemical is a form of silicone also used in cosmetics and Silly Putty. A review of animal studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) found no adverse health effects associated with dimethylpolysiloxane. TBHQ is a common preservative for vegetable oils, cereals, nuts, cookies, chips, and animal fats,11 found in other foods like Girl Scout Cookies12 and Quaker Chewy Granola Bars.13 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets an upper limit of 0.02% (0.0002) of the oil or fat content in foods,14 which like other foods, applies to the oil used in Adams. Effective use of TBHQ is 1 gram per 5000 grams of cooking oil (1 gram per 11 pounds of cooking oil). Category:2000 Births Category:Odd numbers Category:Females